Vermillion
by Matteoarts
Summary: Crimson Day is here, and one Titan has his heart set on a very peculiar someone; the malfunctioning AI, Failsafe. Problem is, he doesn't know exactly how to explain his feelings to a machine that has some kind of multi-personality disorder. For all the challenges he's faced, this will prove to be the toughest of all. (Just a funny one-shot based on an idea I had.)


While the Exodus Black may have been in one-hundred and eight separate pieces, the complex network of sensory nodes that ran throughout her systems and the wreckage of her home was very much intact. Auditory, motion, and surprisingly more than expected visual feeds were quite operational.

There wasn't a moment that went by when they weren't relaying new streams of data and information for her to keep track of; Fallen scouting party locations and proximity to her, countering Vex intrusion attempts on her servers, and now the Cabal who thankfully didn't seem to care much except to blast through large chunks of her debris when it got in their way.

So it was because of this near-omnipotence that she failed to understand why a particular Titan insisted on announcing his presence each time he entered her sanctum.

"Hey, Failsafe- it's me."

"I am perfectly aware," she said in a programmed jubilance she didn't really feel. "You were detected and identified long before entering. If you hadn't been, you would be dead!"

Her dialect patterns were originally made to sound consistently upbeat and polite in all situations, regardless of context. Most people tended to prefer it over her alternative iteration that had developed with rising malfunctions. The Cayde unit had called it her evil twin, but the Guardian before her had come up with the somewhat kinder distinctions of her 'happy' and 'less-happy' voices.

"I know that you know," he grumbled as he approached her central AI cortex, a cylindrical chamber of golden or red glowing servers that made up the nexus of her mind, depending on which half of her personality matrix was in control. "It's just common courtesy to tell you anyway."

"I am a machine- I have no need to be shown courtesy."

"That makes one of us," came a sarcastic voice, the Ghost of the Titan before her materializing over its Guardian's shoulder. "Not all artificial intelligences scoff at the very concept of _manners,_ you know."

"Shoo!" scolded the Titan, waving his arm in a somewhat joking attempt to smack the Ghost away. With an indignant shake of its chassis, the floating polyhedron hovered away and out of earshot.

"Just don't come crying to me when this little endeavor of yours goes south!"

Mirroring the Ghost's previous action, the man shook his head in apparent disbelief.

After the Red War had ended with Ghaul's death, the number of Guardians who came to visit Nessus slowly dwindled. Most were preoccupied with rebuilding the 'City' on Earth, apparently the last safe refuge on what had once been humanity's only planet to call their own. Despite not truly having emotions, she could say with absolute certainty that she had not been looking forward to once again having no one but the antagonistic aliens to commune with.

But the Guardian in question had been different. While the others came strictly to complete missions given to them by the Vanguard, he had spent many hours conversing with her for seemingly no purpose other than to spend time with her. Indeed, besides her new captain, he was the only one who ever came to see her anymore.

What could have possibly provoked him into investing so much of his time into talking with her, she had no idea. The Exodus Black had long since been stripped of most of its valuable resources, and the only purpose she had concerning the Vanguard's strike teams was providing tactical analysis. For all intents and purposes, she had little to no function in existing anymore.

Yet, the Titan stubbornly refused to leave her alone for long. She had originally tried to discern why he kept returning, assuming he had some ulterior motive that involved her; however he never gave an answer other than, 'because I want to.' Why he would desire such a thing was another mystery, one that she didn't care so much about solving rather than simply accepting it as a pleasant turn of events.

"What is the nature of your visit?" she inquired pleasantly.

 _Bzt._

" _Did ya need something killed? 'Cause I can do that."_

Her other half had been often referred to as 'off-putting', 'unpleasant', and even 'downright rude'. Thankfully, however, he never seemed to mind when she had a glitch and snapped at him. With as many … quirks … as she'd generated over her time on Nessus, she wasn't exactly confused on why many tended to avoid her company. But he always remained, no matter how many times a jab or rebuke was accidentally thrown his way. She certainly didn't wish to drive away the one person who actually enjoyed talking with her.

"No, that's not it," he hastily assured her. "I'm more than qualified to take out a few dregs every now and then. Thanks, uh- for the offer, though."

 _Bzt._

"Of course. Then to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her array of motion-sensors were picking up slight vibrations and quakes throughout his body- he was anxious or nervous about something. Had he come to tell her of troublesome news? Her mind rapidly flashed through many different scenarios; he had just claimed his visit did not involve an enemy faction, and the Ghost had left the premises- so the logical assumption was that its parameters were confined to the two of them. Which left the likeliest and most distressing option …

He was informing her that he going to cease his visitations.

While not exactly capable of expressing emotion in the way that humans were (though they seemed determined to claim otherwise and apply their own biological traits to her), she was perfectly capable of admitting that she did not anticipate the prospect of being alone once again-

With an awkward flourish, he held out his hand and she watched as a bundle of slightly battered roses materialized within it.

This was not what she'd been expecting at all, and it appeared that he hadn't either- his helmet turned to the flowers in his hand, and performed a double-take. "Oh, damn it- I _told_ him to be careful with them- !"

In spite of his apparent embarrassment at having damaged the flowers, she felt an odd sense of relief flow through her systems, a sensation she wasn't accustomed to. She was simply grateful that his news was not that of his permanent departure.

With a regretful sigh, he held the roses out and waited for a moment. When he realized that she did not possess arms with which to grab it, he hurriedly placed them on the floor next to her tri-linear optic, what others had called her 'eye'. She supposed that, regardless of the fact that she did not actually possess eyes, it was somewhat of an accurate analogy.

The whole time, he muttered curses to himself and apologies to her. When they were finally out of his hand, he backed away and swallowed hard.

"H-Happy 'Crimson Day', Failsafe."

She did not reply, instead taking the time to analyze the roses he'd gifted her. They were certainly worse-for-wear, but she did not see why he seemed so distraught over their unfavorable condition, nor the intent with which he'd given them to her in the first place.

"I do not understand the significance." _Bzt. "Is this, like, a new human thing? Chuckin' dead flowers at each other?"_

"Oh- no, it's kind of, uh … I didn't realize you didn't know about it."

" _Well, you're realizin' it now. So what's the deal?"_

He began to lean back on his heels, quite obviously uncomfortable with the idea of having to explain the meaning of his actions after they'd already taken place. "W-Well- I mean, it's a way for us to- you know, to celebrate the ones closest to us."

 _Bzt._ "You consider us to be 'close'?" she asked, genuinely curious. With human language came many nuances and intricacies- she wanted to know what exactly the full meaning behind his usage of 'close' had been.

He blew air slowly and through pursed lips judging from the auditory stimuli provided. "T-That's a loaded question, oh boy. I m-mean-"

 _Bzt. "Spit it out already, it's not like I have all day."_

Clasping his hands together in an air of finality and conviction, he nodded in agreement. "Right, o-okay. It's a holiday we have to remind us of those we care about. I mean, _care_ about. Generally a 'crimson bond' is used to refer to a couple who, uh … have an interest in _intimacy_ with each other-" He paused full-stop in the middle of his sentence. "Oh, Traveler, that's not what I meant-"

Growing restless with the idea that there was knowledge she didn't possess, she let him flounder a bit more while she searched the extranet via the communications satellite the other Guardians had placed here several months back. What she found was not at all what she had presumed; images of red decorations and banners widespread throughout the City, flower petals littering the ground … it reminded her to also search up the significance behind one individual gifting another with roses-

She could have sworn, for a single moment, that her processors completely ceased all activity.

In the space of a few seconds, she'd absorbed all the information relating to 'crimson day' and what a 'crimson bond' was. She returned her attention with a completely different an unknown perspective to the situation at hand while somewhat at a loss for how to proceed.

The Titan kicked his foot in the air aimlessly. "I understand, if like- you know, you're not exactly interested. You're a hyper-intelligent super-computer, and I … well, I punch things." He shrugged as though the movement would dispel his discomfort. "I just figured if anyone deserved to have someone with them on today of all days, it was you-"

"Would you be my crimson double?"

That shut him up rather quickly. "I- what?" Her use of the correct phrasing had startled him most, followed only second that she was actually returning his courtship.

She gave a small hum of contentment. "A 'crimson bond' signifies not just a desire, but a _need_ to have a certain individual's presence close by to perform the most efficiently. While I do not possess biological emotions or feelings, my processes have become accustomed with a positive association concerning you, devoting several runtimes towards the specific event of conversing with you."

Pausing, she examined how best to describe how she felt. "Without you here, they- I- am comparatively 'empty', for lack of a better term. So it would seem logical that over our time together, I have- albeit, unknowingly- already formed a 'crimson bond' with you. All that it requires is official recognition, so I ask again …"

Her optic spun one full rotation as her excitement grew. "Would you be my crimson double, Guardian?"

Blankly, he stared at her for several seconds before coming to his senses and rapidly nodding his head. "Y-Yeah, absolutely! I thought you'd never ask- I mean, _really,_ I didn't actually think you'd ask …"

He sat down, and she analyzed the fluctuations of his heartbeat as it had sped up and slowed throughout their whole conversation, the only tangible experience that she could assign to his feelings and compare to the flood of new activity within her own servers.

Maybe there was one emotion that wasn't unique to organics after all.

"Sorry I was so … well, hesitant," he apologized. "I guess I just felt a bit inferior compared to you- like you could do better."

"Do not worry, I find you to be more than acceptable of a companion. You have shown great kindness to me, and I am perfectly satisfied to refer to you as my 'crimson double'."

He nodded appreciatively. "Well, that's good to know."

 _Bzt. "Plus, you're kinda cute when you're shy."_

She copied the auditory feedback of his flusters and stammers that followed, saving it for reasons she could not explain other than it brought her processes enjoyment. It would seem that there would be quite a lot of time to gather more examples from her new crimson double in the future- and she was looking forward to it.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Crimson Days is still going on, so I don't consider this too late. This was just a funny idea that's been bouncing around in my head for a while, figured now was as good a time as any to write it. Hope you got some enjoyment out of it.**_


End file.
